Alright today on Repairs101 we’re going to look at the fundamentals of splicing three strand rope. This episode of Repairs101 was brought to you by Princess Auto. Princess Auto has a great selection of rope, wire, twine, paracord and more! Not to mention snaps and shackles and pretty much whatever you’re looking for.
Be prepared
You know, as it is with many things in life, you’ll find success much easier to achieve if you do the required prep work.
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You know, creating basic splices like the back splice, the eye splice and the short splice – is actually much easier than it looks. Once you get the hang of it. To me the most useful is the eye splice. Which you definitely will want to use with polypropylene rope as it’s very stiff and very difficult to knot reliably. Now, although perfect symmetry is achievable and preferred, the truth of the matter is: if you’re reasonably close – it will hold. Now, admittedly, this is kind of a long short splice. But I find the long strands easier to show on camera. Marry the two ropes together like this.
Long, trippy silence
Then hold one side of it in a bunch and start over-undering the other side. (LONG, TRIPPY SILENCE)
Crown knot
A crown knot can be made by looping each strand against the rope and then passing each tail through its neighbor’s loop. Then pull it all tight. It’s not hard to see why they call it a crown knot, is it?
Back splice
A back splice will save your rope from fraying and becoming useless. I’m making this back splice much shorter. Once the crown knot is made, it’s over-under time. Unlike the polypropylene rope, this nylon rope is soft and floppy, but also prone to unwinding. Twist the ends as you handle them. Roll a finished splice in your hands to smooth it out and make the braids lay flat.
